Top Stocks UPS and FedEx want more of the holiday shipping pie

To attract greater volumes, UPS offers UPS My Choice service that allows package receivers to avoid missed deliveries by getting an advance text or email message from UPS that alert them the day before a package is scheduled to arrive. Receivers can also reschedule delivery for a different day. This enhanced service experience at the receiver's end can prompt senders to choose UPS among other delivery companies as it ensures that deliveries are not missed by receivers especially in cases when delivery has been sent at the eleventh hour. This service was launched by UPS in October 2011 and until now more than 2 million people have registered for it.

FedEx on its part offers FedEx SmartPost service that targets the e-commerce industry. This service helps online retailers and catalogers ship high volumes of low-weight shipments to residential customers. The company picks, sorts and delivers packages to the U.S. Postal Service facilities, which then makes the final deliveries to residences. In fiscal 2012, average daily package volume through FedEx SmartPost increased 18% year-over-year to 1.7 million shipments.

In short, both companies have very different strategies to take advantage of the surge in shipping volume during the holiday season as they look to gain a larger share of holiday shipping.